Coinbase Investor and Fundstrat Analyst Explain Why Goldman Sachs Is Incorrectly Assessing Bitcoin

Published at: May 29, 2020

A leaked slide from a client meeting shows Goldman Sachs does not believe Bitcoin is an asset class. Coinbase angel investor Seth Ginns and Fundstrat analyst David Grider explain why Goldman continues to hold this antiquated position.

Ginns and Grider joined Cointelegraph’s weekly Crypto Live Show to bring an investor’s perspective to the usual trader-heavy lineup. They also dive deeply into a broad range of topics including how they began investing in crypto, why they’ve stayed, crypto’s macro impact on the world of finance, private and central bank digital currencies, and institutional involvement in the space. Watch the livestream’s full recording in the video above or skip to 23:05 to go directly to the discussion on Goldman Sachs.

Cointelegraph’s Crypto Markets Live broadcasts every week on Thursday afternoons eastern time. The next show will feature crypto traders Big Cheds and Korean Jew Crypto, so subscribe to the Cointelegraph YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss when we go live!

Goldman Sachs Leaks its Position on Bitcoin

Cointelegraph reported that in a May 27 call discussing the state of the U.S. economy, Goldman Sachs appeared to discourage clients from investing in Bitcoin. This was discovered after a Powerpoint slide of Goldman’s presentation was leaked to the public.

Purported Goldman Sachs Slide From May 27 Call. Source: Ryane Browne’s Twitter Account.

On the opposite side of the spectrum stands former presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg, who already acknowledged cryptocurrency as an asset class. When asked whether they supported Bloomberg or Goldman’s perspective, both Ginns and Grider sided against Goldman.

‘Stale’ Arguments Against Bitcoin

Ginns, who is a portfolio manager at CoinFund, stated that he thought the question of Bitcoin being an asset class was already settled. He went on to point out another flaw in a different part of Goldman’s presentation, suggesting he was privy to the entire report:

“One of the interesting takedowns of crypto that we’ve seen — we saw it yesterday — was the idea that a lot of crypto is used for illicit purposes, and I found it really funny… So I thought that was a really good indicator of how stale that type of argument is as a takedown on crypto.”

Grider also noted how Goldman’s approach to crypto hasn’t changed much over the past few years:

“Goldman — they’re obviously smart folks, very, very smart folks, some of the smartest folks on Wall Street. I think that the narrative that they put out on the call and in the deck — it’s very 2017, 2018...I don’t think that the narrative they’ve kind of put out has evolved much.

Grider goes on to explain why he thinks Goldman’s stance is due in part to political motivations. To hear the full explanation, check out Cointelegraph’s May 28 Crypto Markets Live stream in the video above.

If you enjoyed this latest market update, make sure to hit the Like button, and subscribe to Cointelegraph’s YouTube channel for more weekly crypto content!

Tags
Related Posts
Coinbase executed MicroStrategy’s $425M Bitcoin purchase in September 2020
Coinbase, the United States’ largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it facilitated one of the largest institutional Bitcoin (BTC) purchases in 2020. According to an official announcement, Coinbase was selected as the primary execution partner for MicroStrategy’s $425 million purchase of Bitcoin in September 2020. Brett Tejpaul, head of institutional sales at Coinbase, provided more details about the purchase as well as the company’s aim to facilitate institutional purchases in a Dec. 1 blog post. “Using our advanced execution capabilities, leading crypto prime brokerage platform, and OTC desk, we were able to buy a significant amount of Bitcoin on behalf of …
Bitcoin / Dec. 1, 2020
Multicoin Capital Partners Explain How They Invest in Crypto Startups
According to Coinopsy.com, over 1,500 cryptocurrencies have collapsed in the past eight years. With so many failures, what is the best way to determine which projects are worth investing in, and how can these projects be found? CEO of Civic, Vinny Lingham, and co-founder of Multicoin Capital, Kyle Samani, joined the latest episode of Cointelegraph’s crypto markets show to explain how they search for and assess crypto investment opportunities. They also discuss how COVID-19 is shaping the role of crypto in the global economy and why Asia may or may not become the DeFi hub of the world. Watch the …
Bitcoin / April 24, 2020
Report: Traditional Investors Shift to Over-The-Counter Bitcoin Markets
In its recent analysis published Dec. 17, research firm Diar has found that institutional investors have shifted towards higher liquidity over-the-counter (OTC) physical Bitcoin (BTC) markets. Diar noted growing investment in OTC funds like that offered by major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. According to the report, Coinbase outperformed Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) on OTC markets in terms of BTC trade volume. While OTC trade volumes are dwarfed by non-OTC investment, it is still significant as OTC markets are only open for 31 percent of annual tradable hours. Grayscale reportedly registered $216 million in net inflows into its Bitcoin Investment …
Bitcoin / Dec. 18, 2018
Coinbase, Kingdom Trust, Regal Assets Jointly Offer Crypto IRA and 401(K) Accounts
Major American crypto exchange Coinbase, asset custodian Kingdom Trust and alternative assets investment firm Regal Assets have begun offering cryptocurrency-based individual retirement and 401(K) accounts in the United States. An individual retirement account (IRA) is an investment account that enables an individual to save money for retirement in a tax-deferred way, while a 401(K) represents a qualified retirement savings plan offered by an employer. In a Nov. 13 press release, the firms said that the new offering will give investors access to more than 30 digital currencies in the industry directly through Coinbase, with insurance protection provided by British insurance …
Adoption / Nov. 14, 2019
Cathie Wood’s ARK enters 2023 with $5.7M Coinbase stock purchase
Cathie Wood, veteran investor and CEO of ARK Invest, remains bullish on the cryptocurrency industry and centralized exchanges (CEX) despite the bear market and the crypto crisis. Wood’s investment management firm ARK continues accumulating the stock of the major United States cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. On Jan. 5, ARK purchased 144,463 Coinbase (COIN) shares for allocation by its financial technology-focused fund, ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), according to a trade notification seen by Cointelegraph. At the time of writing, the purchase is worth $4.8 million, with COIN closing at $33.5 on Thursday. On the same day, ARK also bought 27,813 COIN …
Bitcoin / Jan. 6, 2023